S. Korea to use emergency funds of US$ 2.8 bil. for coronavirus

당정청 "가용 예비비 3조4000억원 신속 활용...입국확대 금지 추후 판단"

The government is going to use emergency funds to contain the new virus... and is considering expanding the entry ban on foreigners.
Our Park Hee-jun has the details. South Korea will immediately use more than 2-point-8 billion U.S. dollars of emergency funding to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
"The government is currently using its secured budget for the crisis, and it has an emergency fund of 2.8 billion U.S. dollars. There's an objective reserve of 1.7 billion dollars and a general reserve of 1.1 billion dollars. We will use them swiftly and effectively."
This was decided by the representatives of the government, the Blue House, and ruling party at a meeting at the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The emergency budget will be used for quarantine and to support industries that have suffered losses from the outbreak.
The key focus of the meeting was the economic response to the outbreak,... they closely reviewed the virus's influence on the global and domestic economy,... breaking it down by industry.
"We must strengthen government cooperation with various regions, industries, and companies, as we did when Japan imposed export curbs on us last year. Then we will again turn this crisis into an opportunity."
The three groups also said they wanted stricter screening for foreigners entering the country. Although nothing was decided at the gathering, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun hinted at the possibility of expanding the current entry ban on foreigners who have visited Hubei Province in the past two weeks,... to foreigners from other regions.
This comes as patients in South Korea who recently visited Thailand and Japan have tested positive for the virus.
"We will closely watch the situation in Hubei Province and the surrounding area. We will also test entering non-Chinese foreigners if necessary."
South Korea will also continue to work closely with China.
It plans to keep supplying masks and other goods to Korean nationals in China,... while supporting local firms in tackling the outbreak.
By jointly overcoming the crisis, the ruling party, government and the top office anticipate better relations between Seoul and Beijing.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.

#emergency #coronavirus #budget

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